Posting tray



J. D. LEAR POSTING TRAY Jan. 5, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 10, 1951 Joieph D. Lea]: Wfi/ tto cg J. D. LEAR POSTING TRAY Jan. 5, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 10, 1951 n m mm mm miw m he m Q w NH 3 L/ a g i fi Q M g ip Q p E 1 Mm m m M. 80F Q I MU mm w T v v 4 0 Q mm Q a mm a v Bw Q w R wmxaw w J. D. LEAR POSTING TRAY Jan. 5, 1954 Filed April 10, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 J. D. LEAR POSTING TRAY Jan. 5, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 10, 1951 J05 epb D. flf

t neg Patented Jan. 5, 1954 5 p v 'iPoSTING'TRA "f J bee-pun: LeaflBuflalo, N;Y., assighor to Posting Equipment Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y. "A iifiiiiiidifiibiil 10, 1951, sriel iweizzoj'ss t 4Olaims. (Cl'. 129'"26') 2 I emvanohafitw ed" 'esitie'n m 'soli'd 'lines,'-" and n1 opener working bosition'ifibrokenlines;

' Figsffian'dW are respectively end elevations v t invention llates toffiling t y iog- "the type employed. E hold removable sheets; 'su'oh; as

e are used in. con unetionQwith. maeh e postmg I I H H I r of J aceounts e anli' 'rebords; In ,p'fliice equipm nt of the'front andb'ack plates; iQof' thisnnatur je, lit 11s customary to provide: th 5: Fig 8 is anenla'rged section through the upper M tray oredrawerwith pivotally: emounte'tl iollower portion of t l s bac or ,fouower Plate a 3 9 JOY I-Dlates .."afi le si'Qfi .Q. h is Wit f "Parts n locked p silongitudinallyjatljustable;" and fwhich may be '-;-tion;=ancl,* v j p 7 we swung. to afiopen nos; whenit is desired to -?F1g. 9 15- 3111 enlarged section thr m gain'aeee'ssitofth "heets, jand to'f a closed'eomm tom of the'back plateand latching mechanism,

' pressive positio :i etain the cards when the lf hthe' narts 'shown' 1n locked position in full The present inventioncontemplates improve- R ferring first tosl 'lgsirto .4, the tray commentsin devices f-this eneral'na'tur'e wherea prisesarectil near bottom plate formed with t rear plates aremounted on 5' pacedrunners lzzandwitha marginalupstandthe b ase of themes for tilting 'movement from fi ge lt.of'which"oneesiderportion [3a is an uprigh t or came ess'ive'"position to'an' inclined p lfl ed 'wlthzia" hmge element. A side wall M or workin posit? Provision; is also made for S xp p y' ted 0 t e 'port1on [3a, ,and an retrograde moileifien or both plates, asan-inci- PDP SWfl d front and back walls I dent to the tilt ng oftheplates to-th'e unlocked fiaand l1, arekw elded or otherwise fixedly secured A positionfsothatthe user has freeaeoess'to the YtO the 'l g lDOltlOIiS of the flange l3.

ledger sheets at theoutset of the posting'operfi de walls-may be finished with trnn tm ations. The invention mrm'erprof/ides resilient yand the front and bacl: walls are also'iimshed means, ineorpoir a rfed' i n the latching mechanism w tha gul rly haped trim strips l9 wh1ch exof one of the"plate "fwhichy ineoop'erationwith. 2 fin 11 ht 1 tance inwardly of the trayebody.

" the a'djustingFan lafichingimans Of'the other The font'ia d aback walls l6 and n are also plate, enables; the ewe plates to bindfthe sheets plsev d dwwmh .e d qs; 2 by means of whlch firmly, when' bieught' td "the loekedposition. m h r m eer adny earned between a stor Further features of the invention are-"a -pi ot w 4 an -a k 'table. The en d walls are ally mounted side" wall for the tray which may P 41 Pr vided."a aa ent epw ted' side wall I4, be released readin to facilita-te access tothe W h. 1 Szz'z lllfi rfl q f tops or rests sheets; to" provi'de fo'r ready detachment of the 52 Wall l4, e h ela ter 1s {n ts upright follower lates in-the event'they should become e l 1 e damaged and reliiiire Servicing; and generally to 3$?12: 1: 2135;eigfiallgzgo fggngttgg afi g i sturEl 'ihx ensivetray-whieh 'will; a p e e fii l l th e nume-5 s gquirements imposed on w whe i.thez 9nta1ned 1 na e:tray.

' 1 w The e-.ra e s cer i pporu g lv a he eie se mfizvabl a e ys w 2 x en ing f fib fillp qli l and spacing collars equipment o ffthis 'charac'ter;

Various other features and. -ead vantages "will appear fromf'a cl e'tailed. Tdeseription of "the best embodiment of the nv'entioii new known to1'me =v .e tobe read mean n witliltheaeeompanyin Y drawings'wherein I with 9f E pgvqte'd slde It may be notedat this oint Wall shown in brokenflines ancl w th the f ollower shaded fiend plates removed;-

-- Elltllereferencenumeral e i qn e h eni meme-e willfbeldiscuss d of the tray,furtherillust ating parts of thejside 5Q f q g h m f ;i; j Y wall eontrollingrneehanismf ,entln .be Cle'scr-i is ;retained in both upn 91. 4 m ans ncludin l d; o h w l a ac n t l, 'heseiplates as sliown in Fig. 2, 5r are ofg amenareuate onfigtir'ati'onf anti their a the line peer F1513; "throl'ighithe eF e wn in bottom margins are formed with outwardly turned flanges 32 and downwardly extending latch fingers 33. In the upright position of the wall H, the fingers 33 engage over the extremities of a latch bar 35, which is mounted on the bottom wall below the channel 24, on pins 36 projecting through diagonal slots 31. This bar is normally retained in the position shown in Figs. land 2,.for locking engagement, with the fingers 33, by a tension spring 38 connected to the bar and the bottom I The bar 35 is shifted lengthwise and transversely of the tray bottom by means ofa .push button 39, projecting through the front wall l6, and connected on its inner .end to aleafspr'ing 4| having one end welded to the-inner surface of the wall Hi. When the bar 35,is,thus shifted, it extremities move away from the fingers 33', so that the wall l4 may swing outwardlya The flanges 32 engage the ,angle plates 22 when the vw hasswu s ubstan l y n ty sr se the wall I4 is, thus supportedegainst.further downward movement.-;-v The movement of the wall to its open position, uponreleaSBpf, the latch ,bar 35, is also facilitated by means of leaf. springs 42, mounted on, the adjacent screws 25 andposts 25, which project underand bear against the flanges 32 when the wall I4 is closed. Upon releasing the bar 35, the tension in the springs 42 .exerts a thrust on the latch members 3|, to im part swinging movement to the wall M.

The tray contains a frontcompressor plate and a back compressor orv followerplate 52,

both of which are mounted for. combined pivotal and longitudinal movement. Theyare provided with, latching mechanisms which engage when the plates .are brought to an upright position, to

. compress and retain between them .a group of ledger sheets and tabbedindex cards, illustrated schematically in Figs. 5, 6, and '1, and designated by theletter C. Itv will be noted that the above described latching and releasing mechanism for the. side wall I4 is, to alargeextent, concealed below-the channel 24, onwhich the cards may rest. insofar as such mechansm is visible, it is disposed adjacent the ends of the tray, and'outside of the-space between the plates 5| and 52 within which the cards are retained. By providing-the pivoted wall |4, free access may be had 'to the cards from the edges thereof, and there is no interference from the latching mlechanism .to the user of the tray.

The plate 5| is connected along its lower edge to one leaf 53 of a hinge 54, which is rovided with an elongated hinge pin whose ends under: lie the flanges 28"of the guideway 21; These ends receiverollers 55 which travel in the guideway as the plate 5| is manipulated. The o'ther leaf 55 .of the hinge 54 is in turn hinged to a second hinge l 51, whose knuckleis located at the junction of V the front wall l6 and the bottom The lower leaf 58 is secured to the bottom by screws 59, as

-is best shownin Fig. 5. The upper leaf 6| of the hinge 51 is connected to an operating or latch bar 62 which curves upwardly into parallelism with the plate 5| when the latter is in its upright position. The upper end of the bar is reversely bent to form a grip or handle 63, formed at its upper end with aligned perforations to receive a push pin 64, the inner end of which may engage the plate 5|. When .the handle 63 is gripped with the fingers, the

pin 64 may be operated with the thumb. The plate 5| is provided with a pressure pad 65 opposite the bar 62, which pad is formed withan outwardly projecting ridge or strike plate 66, and a headed pin 61 which may ride in a slot 63 formed in the bar 62-. The upper portion of the bar 62 is formed with a struck-out tongue or latch element 69, adapted to engage under the plate 66.

The slot 68 and pin 61 are so related to each other that, when the plate is in its upright position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 5, the pin engages the upper margin of the slot,' and thus restrains the plate 5| from movement toward the ..right. At the same time, the latch 69 is engaged ,under the plate 65. In this position, the plate 5| is securely locked from movement, as motion in. .either. direction of the plate will require mo- .tion of thehinge leaves 56 and 6| with respect to each other. Due to its limited resilience or flexibility,the"upper end of the bar 62 may be pulled, away slightly from the plate 5|, as by manipulating the push pin 64, to disengage the latch 69,, Upon pulling back on the handle 63, the leaves of'the. hinge 51 open, to impart tilting movement to theljplate 5| through the engagement between'the slot68a'nd the head of'the pin 61. At the sam e ti'me, the leaves of thehi'nge 54 approach each-other, to impart longitudinal movement to the plate 5|, whi :h, then assumes the broken line position of Fig'. 5.

This motion, of course, spaces the plate 5| fromthe cards C, at the bottom, as well as' the top, to provide manipulative or.fin'ger,j1space the plate from the tray.

The rear compressor or .follower plate ,52 is secured at its lower edge to one leaf 1|"of'jaI hinge 12, whose other leaf 13 isconne cte'd to the deck 14 of a carriage 15which fits betweentheflanges 28. ,This carriage is provided with trunnior'is for V .rollers 16 which travel in the gu idewa'y" 2 1"and ,are retained from upward movement by the flanges 28 (see l 'igs.;5, 'l, and 9) Thelh'inge'leaf 1 13is provided with a knuckle 11 on i ts'opp'osite end, to which is pivoted another, leaf 16. jToj'this leaf is secured a stud .bar- 1 9 whichljslopes upwardly toward the plate 52 into proximatecontact therewith, andthen outwardly to form a finger portion B|.;. T he plate 52 is provided with a pad 82, formed with ,a strike plate 83"and headed pin 84, similar to. the pad .of thefront plate 5|. Thepin .84 rides inalslot 85injftl'ie'bar i 19, and the plate 83 is adapted to' e nga'ge a struck-out latch 86, also formed onthe bar 19.

The slot 85 is sodimensionedthat the p'in 84 enga es its upper end when the plate 52 .is in an upright position, andthe lowerend' whei i the plate is tilted backwardly.

v When the latch86 is engagedthe, plate 52 cannot be tilted backwardly; fTlielatcl'i may be disengaged, due to the slight: re siliencehf'the upper portion 8| of the bar, by pushing against a button 81, disposed at the top thereof.' The person using the tray will invariablygrasp the front handle 63 in one hand to release the plate 5|, and simultaneously reach over the cards' with the other hand. egress ,flgainstthe button a1,

thereby releasing both plates at the same time. When so released, the plate 52 may be, swung backwardly, as indicated by the broken lines in Figs. 5 and 9.

Mean are provided for adjusting thecarriage l5 and plate 52 longitudinally ofthe tray, to accommodate card bundles of varying thickness. Such means includes a rack bar 9| secured to the bottom of the channel 21, and a pawl 92 which abuts the bar 19 and engages between the rack teeth through a slot 93 cut in the carriage deck M. The pawl 92 is slidably retained against the bar '19 by pins 94 which pass through a slot 95, and which also secure a lifting handle 96. The pawl is normally held in engagement with the rack by a tension spring 91, extending between a stud 98 positioned on the pawl and a finger 99 formed by the metal which is struck out to provide the slot 93. The bar 19 is also provided with a handle 19! which overlies the handle 95. It will be noted that the pawl 92 may be released from the rack 9| irrespective of the position of the latch 86. Hence, the plate 52 may be brought to its upright position and secured, and the entire rear follower assembly may then be shoved tightly against the cards, by pulling up on the pawl handle 96, and releasing it when the plate 52 is properly positioned.

When the latch 89 is released, and the plate 52 is swung backwardly, the engagement of the lower end of the pawl 92 between a pair of rack teeth causes the carriage to move back a slight distance, as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 9. This is advantageous, as it spaces the bottom of the plate 52 from the cards, and thereby facilitates manipulation. Another advantag of this motion is in connection with the closing of the file. There may be such number of ledger sheets in the tray that without this longitudinal movement, it would be diflicult to set the pawl 92 along the rack bar 9! in a position where it would close tightly against the cards, and retain them with the desired security. It was previously noted that the bar 62 is slightly resilient. Hence, the pawl 92 may be set one or two teeth ahead of a card engaging position, and, when the plates are locked, the curved portion of the bar 62 can yield slightly against the compressive force exerted by the plate 52, and the front plate can move slightly because of this flexing action, thereby compacting the cards under suflicient force to retain them against displacement.

It was previously noted that the front plate 5| could be easily removed through the clearance notch 29 when the retaining screws 59 were detached. When this is done, the entire assembly of the rear plate 52 may also be removed by sliding the carriage T5 forward, and tilting it about its rear wheels when the front wheels have cleared the flanges 28. Occasionally, a tray is dropped and damaged, and repair work is facilitated by providing a construction which may be readily dismantled, as the repairs may then be made quickly at the place of use, without returning the tray to a service work shop.

It will accordingly be seen that the invention provides a sturdy and durable posting tray, wherein the ledger sheets may be securely retained and made readily available when the tray is in use. While the invention has been described with reference to a single embodiment, it is to be understood that it is intended to encompass within its scope all those modifications and variations as are covered by the following claims.

8 liclaimz-v a l. A posting tray comprising a bottom, a guideway in'the bottom, a double leaf plate hinge having a knuckle retained in the guideway and linearly movabletherein, a compressor plate connected to one leaf of the plate hinge, a, latch barhinge having aleaf pivotally connected to said bottom at onev end and to the other leaf of the plate hinge at its opposite end, a flexible latchbar connected at one end to said leaf of the latch bar hinge, said latch bar extending upwardly from said latch bar hinge leaf into proximity to saidc'ompressor plate, interengageable latch elements formed on the plate and bar and adapted to retain the plate in upright position when engaged; and interconnecting means between the plate and bar to retain the same in proximity when the latch elements are disengaged.

2. A posting tray comprising a bottom, a guideway formed with overhanging flanges disposed axially of the bottom, a compressor plate positioned over the bottom and above the flanges, a plate hinge having one leaf connected to the lower end of the plate and the other leaf disposed in the guideway between the flanges, a knuckle formed at the end of said other leaf, a

latch bar pivotally connected at one end to said.

knuckle and to the tray bottom, said latch bar being inclined inwardly and upwardly toward said, plate and having a portion in juxtaposition thereto when the plate is in an upright position, a con nection between the plate and bar to retain the bar from separation from the plate and enable the plate and bar to shift relative to each other' as the plate is pivoted on its hinge, said barf being bent to form a manually accessible por-- tion extending outwardly from the plate, interengaging latch elements formed respectively on the plate and bar and adapted to engage when the plate is brought to upright position, a but ton disposed on the outwardly extending portion of the bar and manually accessible to facilitate disengagement of the latch elements, and rollers positioned in the guideway beneath the flanges and operatively connected to the plate hinge, whereby the plate may have both tilting and longitudinal movement with respect to the guideway.

3. A posting tray comprising a bottom, a guideway having overhanging flanges positioned axially along the bottom, a compressor plate over the guideway, a plate hinge having a knuckle located between the flanges and having one leaf connected to the lower end of the plate, rollers in the guideway beneath the flanges and operatively connected to the knuckle of the plate hinge, a second hinge having a knuckle fixedly connected to the bottom and a latch leaf swingable toward the plate, the second leaf of the plate hinge and said latch leaf being pivotally interconnected through a common knuckle, a latch bar having a lower end connected to the latch leaf and sloping upwardly into juxtaposition to the plate, interengageable latch elements formed on the plate and bar and adapted to engage when the plate is in an upright position, a connection between the plate and bar to retain the same in juxtaposition and enforce concurrent arcuate and linear movement of the plate when the latch elements are disengaged and the latch bar is swung about said fixedly connected knuckle.

4. A posting tray as set forth in claim 3, wherein said fixedly connected knuckle is detachably secured to the bottom adjacent one end thereknuckle is detached;

.JosEPE um:

R eferences Cit ed ihtl'lerfile of PM UNITED STATES PATENTS" Numb? Name Dat' Clark "j Sept. 2, I930 Bergmann Dec. --2, 1-930 Bgrgmann J1'11y' 21, 1931 qi'qeon Oct. 11, 1-932 Bullock Dec. 20,1932 straubel Dec. 11-, 1934 swimmer A r. 1 1941 'Jdnes'et" a1. Oct. 5, 1943 Ldtter Mar. 1, I949 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France 1937 

